BAFTA announces dates and official rule changes for the 2022 Virgin Media British Academy Television Awards and the British Academy Television Craft Awards

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) has today confirmed the dates for the Virgin Media British Academy Television Awards and the British Academy Television Craft Awards 2022 ceremonies, as well as the official rules and guidelines following its annual review of all categories.

The Virgin Media British Academy Television Awards will take place on Sunday 8 May 2022, and the British Academy Television Craft Awards will be held on Sunday 24 April 2022. Nominations will be announced on Wednesday 30 March 2022, with the Virgin Media Must-See Moment nominations to be announced on Wednesday 23 March 2022. The full 2022 timeline is available at http://awards.bafta.org/entry.

Each year, the BAFTA Television Committee conducts a review of all categories across the Television and Television Craft Awards categories, to ensure the rules and guidelines best reflect the ever-changing landscape of the television industry.

Key changes for this year include:

Line Producers/Production Managers/Heads of Production are now eligible candidates for consideration

Line Producers, Production Managers and Heads of Production can formally have their work recognised as part of the named nominees alongside other members of the production team deemed to have had most creative input.

BAFTA Television to pilot albert sustainability requirements for entrants

Now in its 10th year, the BAFTA albert consortium – backed by BAFTA, independent production companies and broadcasters - is the screen industry authority on environmental sustainability, working across the industry to eliminate its environmental impact as well as developing on-screen content that is compatible with a sustainable climate.

For the 2022 Awards, entrants will be asked whether they have achieved albert certification and completed the albert carbon calculator. This will not affect entrants’ eligibility for the 2022 Awards but will inform plans for the formal inclusion of eligibility criteria in future years. All of BAFTA’s Awards ceremonies, including the Television Awards and Television Craft Awards are albert certified.

Following successful implementation of the BFI Diversity Standards across the Television Awards and Television Craft Awards, entrants must now meet two criteria to be eligible

After a successful pilot of the BFI Diversity Standards in 2020, the Standards were formally implemented for the 2021 Awards, with entrants having to meet at least one of the four criteria. As announced last year, for the 2022 Awards, entrants will need to fulfil two criteria – Standard C, which relates to industry access and opportunities, and one other. This change underlines BAFTA’s ongoing commitment to ensuring its Television Awards nominations are as representative as possible.

UK performers appearing in the International category now eligible for performance categories

From the 2022 onwards, UK performers (as defined in the updated rules and guidelines) appearing in shows only eligible for the International category will individually be eligible for the performance categories. This builds on the updated rules for the 2021 Television Craft Awards which extended eligibility to individual craftspeople across Craft categories working on shows only eligible for the ‘International’ category of the Television Awards, and means British performers appearing in international shows can have their work recognised across the performance categories.

Nominees in International category increased from four to six

Reflecting the year-on-year increase of submissions in the International category, the number of nominees in this category will increase from four to six. This change acknowledges the huge number of entrants considered annually in this category, which covers both scripted and non-scripted shows.

International members can now vote across all applicable Television and Television Craft categories

The voting rights of members based in the US and overseas will be extended from four categories to all categories from 2022 onwards, reflecting the greater access to content for members based overseas. Many Television and Television Craft categories are voted on by Chapters and this system would apply to all international voters too.

Sara Putt, Deputy Chair of BAFTA and Chair of the BAFTA Television Committee, said: “The Television industry has continued to innovate and creatively thrive during the challenges of the last year. TV has once again proven its unique value in keeping audiences entertained and informed, and its vital role in all of our lives.  The progress being made to better represent a broader range of stories and voices on screen and to be properly inclusive and open to talent irrespective of background, was evident in the range of outstanding work and individuals recognised in the Virgin Media BAFTA Television Awards and Television Craft Awards earlier this year.  Each year we consult with the industry and review our rules and eligibility criteria to ensure our awards not only reflect an evolving global industry but also help drive positive change, and this year I’m proud that we are stepping up our consultation with the industry on environmental sustainability with a view to formally adopting requirements from 2023 that will ensure a more sustainable industry for all.”

Further information on the Virgin Media British Academy Television Awards and the British Academy Television Craft Awards 2022 will be released in due course.